Come Back To Me
by CultofCullen
Summary: New Moon, AU, chronicles of Bella's breakdown after Edward leaves.
1. Chapter 1

She felt weightless as Sam carried her out of the forest and into the safety of her father's arms, but couldn't muster the energy to clasp her arms around his neck. Three days starving yourself and laying still as the dead would do that to a person.

The warmth of his embrace was replaced by the hard lumpiness of the living room couch. It wasn't much worse than the floor of the forest. Warmer here. The skin of her face was numb with cold. She couldn't feel her father's fingers skim over her cheeks, brushing the damp hair from her face.

"Bella? Can you hear me?"

Of course she could hear him, but she didn't answer. Answering took energy. Energy she no longer had. Shivers began to wrack her body in seizure-like tremors. Warm blankets were piled on top of her, adding sweat to the dampness of her rain-soaked clothes. Sue put more blankets in the dryer, replacing the old ones with steaming hot dry ones.

The warmth was bliss and Bella's eyes drifted shut, taking her into deep black. The black enveloped her for a short while, and then the dreams started. Screams woke her from her slumber. Some blankets lay in a tangled heap on the floor, the remaining blankets trapping her flailing arms.

Charlie shot up from his recliner, half asleep, to console her, but the screams continued. She was only partially aware that the screams came from her own mouth.

"Shh...shhhh...baby girl, it's okay. It's alright. I've got you."

The words had no consolation in them. The arms she wanted wrapped around her had no warmth in them. She wanted the cold to return. Something to remind her that he was real. That they all were.

Whispers faded into the background.

"Should really see a doctor."

"Hypothermia."

"Medication."

It didn't matter. The couch was becoming a part of her and she was molding herself to its form. She was stuffing and upholstery and creaking springs. Nothing more. Never more.

The sensation of lifting made her head swim. Something smooth and cold was pressed to her lips. "Drink this." The water pooled in her mouth, then spilled out of the corners onto her shirt. She wasn't sure if her eyes were open or shut, if she was awake or asleep. It didn't matter anyway. Sleep brought nightmares. Awareness brought reality. Either way, it was her own personal hell.

The sun rose and fell, blinding her with its brightness. Nothing had shape or form. It was either light or dark.

"You need to eat, Bells." A spoonful of soup was pressed to her lips. She let it dribble out again. No energy. No hunger.

"Bells, please," a choked sob pleaded with her. The spoon reached her lips again. Again, the steaming concoction ran out of her mouth and onto her makeshift bib. More sobs. More pleading. A kiss on her forehead. It reminded her of another kiss on her forehead. Cool lips pressing goodbye into her mind. She sank further into her abyss.

"Hospital."

"No other choice."

Movement. Lifting. More movement. It felt like gliding. Pinching pain in her arm. An I.V. drip? Clarity came and went in waves, mostly went.

"Rehydrated."

"Medication."

"No improvement."

People came and went. Everyone held her hand. Everyone begged her to return to them. Tried to guilt her into coming back.

"Please wake up. It's killing Charlie to look at you waste away."

"Bells, please come back to us. It's not the same without you."

Some voices she recognized. Some she didn't. They were all irrelevant anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

A tube tickled down her nose, into her throat. She had no idea how far the tube went. She felt more nourished, but no more clarity than before. Just less hungry.

The drips made her drowsy sometimes and she would drift and float away. Sometimes they woke her up just enough to be aware of muffled voices. The words didn't make sense to her, but that was because she didn't care enough to comprehend.

Her muscles atrophied with each passing day. Sores developed. But she didn't feel it. She felt nothing. Nothing.

"Long term facility."

"Seattle."

"Help she needs."

More movement. Gliding. Movement. Lifting. New smells. Antiseptic.

"Physical therapist."

The doctor entered and tried to ask questions, but she didn't need to respond. She was in her bubble of pain and there she would stay. He spoke to her like he knew her. His accent sounded familiar, but she didn't care enough to place it.

The nurse came by later to adjust her drips. She stood still as a statue by Bella's bed, sobbed a bit, then continued with her task. The nurse's hand hovered inches from her face as if to touch it, then stopped and sighed.

Another doctor came in on another day. Her emotions began to swirl. She vomited all over herself from the disconcerting change. Nearly choked to death. The first doctor came in and sucked the vomit from her mouth with a tool. A new nurse, tall and slender, lifted her onto a gurney as yet another tiny nurse changed her bedding. The slender nurse muttered curses as she angrily changed Bella's clothing.

"His mess. He should clean it up."

"Best idea ever!"

Darkness cloaked her body once more, the stillness bringing the nightmares. Her screams had changed to whimpers, her arms no longer flailing. Now, they twitched.

"My best friend."

"I miss you. We all do"

She woke to a female voice, the one who changed her bedding.

"Didn't mean to."

"Weak."

"Selfish."

Was the nurse talking to her, or about someone else? Weak? Of course she was weak. Selfish? Hardly.

Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.

"Didn't want to leave."

"Forced our hand."

Don't care. Don't care. Do. Not. Care!

Bella tuned out, letting the voice blend into the white noise. If she didn't listen, she didn't have to care. She was beyond caring anymore.

The doctor joined the nurse. Her emotions swirled again.

"Not going to work."

"I've got to try."

Vomit choked her again. She gasped for breath.

"He'll come. He'll make it better. You'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

Cold fingers gripped her wrist that following morning. It felt comfortable. Familiar.

The doctor huffed, checked the chart, then huffed again. Chilled fingertips caressed her throat. Pulse points. They wanted to see if she was still alive. If she could speak, she'd tell them not to bother. She was dead already. At least on the inside.

"Bella, please...please...wake up."

This voice was different. She knew this voice. Her heart shattered and she screamed. She screamed until the bliss of artificial chemicals lulled her into complacency.

"So sorry...if I had known...never would have..."

The chemicals jumbled her brain, making her believe he was really there. A cruel joke to punish her for whatever sins she had committed.

"Please, come back to me. I'll never leave you. Never again."

She wanted to believe it. To believe him. She couldn't. She mustn't. Tears leaked from her eyes nonetheless.

Sleep claimed her for a time, but the screams woke her up again. Chemical bliss filtered into her veins once more and the cool fingertips returned to stroke her cheek.

"So sorry...never hurt you...please...I love you..."

The pretty packaging surrounding that gift of a confession wasn't enough. The paper would cut, she would bleed, and her world would be no more once again.

"Come back, Bella. I need you. I love you."

The words became less disjointed, more coherent.

Her eyes blinked. She felt it. Open. Shut. She still didn't see, but she felt the whisper of skin against skin before her eyes.

"That's it. I'm here, baby. Come back."

A puff of air escaped her lips, a long forgotten word attempting to break free. A name. Her mouth couldn't form it. It was just air. Too much effort. She sank back into the darkness.

Her hand was freezing, trapped between two blocks of ice. She wanted to pull away, but she was too weak. A whimper of protest grunted quietly and the ice moved to caress her forehead.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I'm so happy you're awake. Did you sleep well?"

She stared blankly ahead. Silent. Unmoving.

"Your eyelids look less purple today. You're doing so well."

She didn't want to do well. She didn't want to do anything.

"Alice says you'll be fine. You'll come back to me. Won't you come back to me, love?"

No. It couldn't be him. NotHimNotHimNotHim...

Tears pooled in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. Snot ran down her lip and it was quickly swiped away by a soft tissue.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. It'll be okay. I'm not going anywhere. Not ever again."

But he would. She would trip on air, cut herself, bruise herself.

And then he would be gone. Again.

"No, Bella. I'm yours. Forever."

Satan's lies and promises always sounded good on paper before you made a deal with him that took your soul forevermore. She would not budge. Unmoving. Unmoved. The tears betrayed her as they sprang forth once more.

"I've been so stupid. I thought I could protect you. Instead, I broke you."

She wanted to scream at him, telling him he hurt her more than anyone ever had. But it didn't matter.

It DIDN'T!

"Please, I'd die without you. You're my only reason to stay alive, if that's what I am."

Hatred seared through her chest and her eyes shifted towards the voice, now seeing the amber glow of his haunted eyes. Black rimmed his pupils in hunger. She didn't want to see, but his declarations of death haunted her like an old Shakespeare play.

Their eyes locked in silent confrontation, her mouth unable to produce words or sounds from lack of use. The fiend had the audacity to smile and kiss her fragile hand.

"You came back."


	4. Chapter 4

Their eyes locked as they stared and stared at each other.

Could he really be here?

No, this was just a mirage. A clever tool to fool her into having hope. The blackness seeped into her vision once again as she began to stare at nothingness.

There was tugging on her arms. Fingers gripping her cheeks, shaking her head back and forth. Soft tapping against her face. Muffled shouts. Pleading.

The nothingness made her feel comfortable and numb. It felt so pleasant just to drift away on the black cloud of non-existent dreams. The fingers, however, kept trying to pull her back into the light.

When you're dying, they always tell you to step into the light. She was avoiding light like the plague. The light brought hurt, misery, loneliness.

No. Here was better.

Time passed, though she couldn't tell how long. Warm sunshine filtered in through the window, heating her skin. If her body would obey, she would have moved away from it. The cold was what she wanted, but nobody knew that. It's not like she would tell them. Not that she could anymore.

"Wasting away."

"Will to live."

"Do something!"

The voices grew louder, impatient.

Downy soft hair tickled her chin, as something nuzzled her neck.

"Please, you have to..."

Have to what? It was too hard to concentrate.

Loud, sobbing sounds hurt her ears and the cool breath tickled. That was a new sensation. It was...welcomed. The breaths panted over the skin of her throat, her pulse point screamed for contact.

She gasped as lips rained down soft kisses there, along her jaw line, her cheeks, her half-open eyelids. For the briefest of moments, she wanted to return them. And now that she wanted to, she couldn't, her body immobile. Frozen.

"I know you feel it."

She did. She felt it seeping into her bones, her muscles, spreading into every nerve ending and sparking like a live wire. Yet, she was helpless. A fixed point. Always helpless.

The lips hovered over her mouth, the sweet breath inviting her with its hypnotic flavor and fragrance. They pressed tenderly against her and she willed her mouth to move in tandem. Her jaw twitched a hair's breadth, then stilled. An involuntary spasm. Her body rebelled and no longer obeyed her brain. Not that her brain was presently working to full capacity, or even half capacity.

"You'll come back to me. You'll see."

She wanted to believe that was true. Really, she did. Unfortunately, the question came to mind, what if this was a hallucination? What if she woke up and he wasn't really there? What if this was all her brain's coping mechanism and she couldn't return to the black void of security she'd come to grasp onto these last few...weeks? Months? Years?

How long had she been there? Day melded into night, which in turn melded into the blackness. Had he waited for her into old age? Would she wake to find her wrinkled hands clutching at the smooth marble of his?

"Been gone so long, baby..."

Oh god, she had! The realization of this sucked her a bit further into herself.

"Come back, sweetheart..."

She wanted to. So badly. It was more tangible this time. Wrinkled or not, the urge to see his face, even if it was for the last time, was too exquisite to bear.

"That's right, my sleeping beauty."

Fairy tales. And her prince was here to awaken her with a kiss.

"Wake up, my love."

His mouth covered hers once again. Pulled each lip, first the top and then the bottom, between his own. A slick tongue snaked out and traced the outline of her mouth, darting between and coaxing her lips between his once more.

A whimper escaped from her and the tantalizing mouth pulled back.

_No! Come back!_

"Bella?"

Eyes fixed on her, blacker than the last time their gazes met. It hadn't dawned on her that the blackness had receded from her own vision and she was peering at him with clear, wide eyes for the first time in what felt like forever.


	5. Chapter 5

The clarity was burning her from the inside out. Worse than when James' venom had wormed it's way through her veins. Her breaths came in gasps and gulps. Her eyes remained fixed on the being she had once loved. Still loved.

His hand reached out to her, stroking a path from her eyebrows, down to her chin. Over and over. Gentle. Firm.

The fingers warmed as the friction heated them. The other hand raised and held her head in place, supporting her neck muscles that atrophied from disuse. Her eyelids fought to stay open, in spite of being encased in the darkness for so long. The bitter irony was that she had longed to gaze upon him for what felt like an eternity and now, in fleeting moments, her own body was betraying her and pulling her away.

Tears began to spill slowly from the corners of her eyes, but she didn't have the strength to wipe at them. He seemed to read her mind, caressing her cheek to remove the offensive wetness.

"Shhh...it's okay. I'm here. I'm here."

Would he be there when she woke? Would he leave her again? She couldn't take that chance, so she fought tooth and nail to stay awake. Her eyelids grew heavy by the second, like lead weights being drawn down by a powerful magnet, and she fought to keep them open.

_No, keep fighting!_

Her eyelids drooped and shut for far too long. Petal soft kisses could be felt against them.

"It's okay. You can sleep. I'll still be here when you wake," his voice whispered, as if giving permission for slumber. Could she trust that voice anymore?

Her body shuddered as weak sobs overtook her. She loved him and craved his body twined around her own, yet she simultaneously hated him for leaving her and yearned to lash out and beat her fists against his marble chest and scream at him for everything she'd lost-the time, the friendships, family.

But that wasn't _his_ fault. The _leaving_ was his fault. The wallowing and breakdown was hers and only hers to claim. Why did he make her so weak?

The thoughts dissipated as her consciousness lost the battle and sleep pulled her deep into it's undertow. Her lingering thoughts tickled her brain as she faded into the darkness. Hadn't she slept so long already?

Time passed without her realization and she awoke to the cool, stillness of her room. Her human eyes attempted to adjust to the trickling of light that began to filter through the blinds. The seat was empty where Edward had sat. The disappointment crept up and the catatonia threatened to claim her once more, her eyes fixing as she began to drift...

"Stay with me, darling."

The words were so convincing that she felt herself pulling from the darkness that had enveloped her in it's soothing embrace.

Arms encircled her. Not metaphoric arms. REAL arms. Granite, tight, persistent arms.

"You need to stay. I'm still here. You need to stay."

She obeyed, wishing with all her might that she could muster the physical strength to turn toward him in this intimate hold and...kiss him? Curse him? It didn't much matter, so long as those arms held tight and never let her go.

"I couldn't stay away from you."

Was he talking to the darkness of the room, or to her?

"I tried. I didn't have the strength."

_Oh, so this was confession time_.

"I thought I'd returned in time, but I was too late."

_Too late? What did he mean? Too late?_

"The dogs. They saved you. I should have saved you, Bella."

_Dogs? Was this some weird hallucinogenic dream?_

"I saved you."

_Huh?_

"In my mind," he continued, "I saved you. Every single night."

_O...kay._

"I left you in that forest, more vulnerable than you'd ever been. You'd have been safer being attacked by Jasper."

Now that made the kind of sense she'd always known to be true.

"At least then, someone could have saved you. Changed you. Before it was too late."

_Too late? There were those words again. Too late for what? _

"I broke you. Left you for broken. Let you break, over and over again."

If he had only known that the shattering pain of her breaking heart had only led to blissful numbness and a mental suspended animation, perhaps he would have left her like that.

"Laurent, Victoria, they have continued searching for you."

Why would they care about her?

"I should have made you safe. Safe from them, safe from those dogs, safe from pain and heartbreak and loss. What have I done?" His sobbing voice lamented to the silent room.

She really didn't want to hear it. She could wallow enough for only one person.


	6. Chapter 6

Warmth seeped into her body as her bleary eyes woke to a soft washcloth swiping the contours of her face. Extra care was taken as the salt deposits from last night's tears were rubbed from the corners of her eyes.

When had she fallen asleep? She hated losing time, falling away when someone spoke to her. Did she disappear?

"Good morning, sweet girl," the cherubic grin of her former lover greeted her.

She tried so hard to form a reply, but all that escaped was a barely audible grunt.

Even though she wasn't sure how long she'd been out of it, she knew it had been a long time since she'd been given a decent bath and part of her longed to be submerged in a scalding hot tub full of fragrant bubbles, while she scoured and exfoliated, shaved and cleansed. Her hair felt like a greasy mass and she daydreamed about her long, thin fingers pulling an exotic scented shampoo through the strands.

The cloth went away and she sighed at the loss of warmth until she heard the water trickling in the basin beside her. It returned to the column of her neck, pressing into the tiny lines that formed around there, the leftover water pooling in the hollow of her throat.

His hands continued to work down the length of her arms, swirling in soothing patterns and encircling each finger, methodically scrubbing the surface. It felt so nice and comforting to feel the tenderness of his touch, watch the caring expression of his gaze, the concentration as his eyes squinted and lips puckered.

Longing eyes stared at the center of her palm. Was he remembering when he used to place a gentle kiss there? It was sort of their unspoken "I love you", before they had actually uttered the words.

A loud, wistful sigh escaped his mouth and she imagined he did remember. Good. She hoped it hurt him as much as it hurt her to know her hands would never hold his kisses again.

"May I?" he asked permission, fingering the hem of her hospital gown.

Was he honestly expecting an answer? Did he not realize her inability to speak? And if she could speak, would she allow him the honor of seeing her naked flesh? That was the real question and a question she wasn't sure she could answer in the negative.

Instead, her eyes pleaded with him and her breath quickened to the point of nearly hyperventilating.

_No! Please don't!_

_Yes! Please, touch me! Kiss me! Caress me!_

"Sorry, sorry..."

_What?_

"I can't do that to you. I don't know what you want me to do."

Tears streamed down her cheeks again, unbidden.

"No, love. Please don't cry. I'm sorry."

The warm washcloth wiped her eyes and nose clean.

"Do you want me to?"

Instantly, the tears dried up. Her breath quickened. Dammit, her body had betrayed her.

"I'll be careful, love. You know I will."

_Yes, but will you be as careful with my heart as you will my body?_

Trembling fingers searched behind her neck for the strings that held the loose material together. The fingers worked quickly and the gown drooped around her neck. Their eyes met and held, while their breaths panted in unison.

"I-I'll try not to look."

_Look all you want, Edward. You'll never have it. I'll never give it to you._

The gown slipped easily down her body, until it had been completely removed and she lay bare and shivering before him.

"I'm sorry. You're cold." It wasn't a question.

A sheet was pulled around her, covering her private areas.

"I'll be right back. This water has run a bit cold."

_Leaving. He was leaving again. Leaving. Leaving. Leaving!_

"Hey, hey, stay with me, sweetheart. I'm here. I'm here."

Her eyes regained focus and stared into his. _He came back. He came back!_

"Let's get you cleaned up before you catch a cold, okay?"

A part of her was annoyed that he'd ask her, as if expecting an answer, but part of her really liked it that he tried. It made her feel a little bit like they were actually conversing. It made this whole ordeal a tiny bit less awkward. Only a tiny bit.

Water trickled on the table near her feet and a steaming hot cloth came into view. The soft, warm cloth swept across her collarbone, back and forth, back and forth. Her senses dulled as she relaxed with the sensation.

"I hope it's not TOO hot. Alice assures me it's perfect."

_Alice was there? Where was she? Were all the Cullens here?_

"She misses you, you know. I'm so sorry I made her stay away."

_Alice didn't have to listen to everything he told her. She could have told Edward to fuck off and do what she wanted. _She doubted Edward truly had THAT much power.

He seemed to notice the slight furrow of her brow, as her face became more expressive with each passing day that she remained awake and engaged. His finger reached out to smooth the crease that formed. Bella's eyes closed momentarily, welcoming the contact.

"She wanted to stay. Really, she did. It's just...the things she saw. She had to go."

The furrow grew deeper.

"There were visions of me going to the Volturi. Trying to provoke them to end my life. I just...I couldn't..."

He swallowed hard in an attempt to reign in his emotions, "I couldn't be in a world where you didn't exist."

Had she asked him to? _No, he just decided what was best and left._

"Originally, Alice saw us returning in a week or two. Being away from you proving too difficult for me to maintain."

_But?_

"Unfortunately, Victoria had other plans."

_Victoria? What had happened to her? Hadn't she left after they had destroyed James?_

Edward remained silent after that. How could he not know she had more questions? What more did he have to add to the story?

His voice broke her reverie. "I know what you're thinking, Isabella. I'm not telling you that. Not right now. Not when you're still this fragile."

She could only imagine what that could mean.

"I will tell you, Bella. Make no mistake about it. Not today, though."

The washcloth dipped lower, skimming the tops of her breasts, but dipping no lower.

"I just got you back," he whispered, lowering his eyes.

He set the washcloth inside the bowl and gathered her hair into his hands, twisting a rubber band around it into a ponytail. His fingers lingered longer than necessary, stroking the strands.

Ocher eyes stared into hers.

"I can't let you fade away again."

He pulled her forward, into a haphazard hug, and wrung out the washcloth again, swirling it in hypnotic circles around her back, then trailing up and down her spine.

"I can't let you leave me."

_Leave who? He left me!_

"You'll go back to being this catatonic zombie and I just can't endure that. Knowing I did that to you. I hurt you once, Bella. I'll never do it again. I'm going to stay. I'm going to protect you."

A small sob choked his voice.

"I'll be with you. Forever."

The washing ceased and he buried his nose into her neck, holding her close and gently rocking her.

It was the most peace she'd felt in a really long time.


	7. Chapter 7

True to his word, he never left. Every day he came, just like he promised.

Sometimes he bathed her, like that first day. Some days he read to her from her favorite books. Other times he invited Alice and Esme to come and pamper her with fragrant oil massages and manicures and pedicures.

Later, she learned that she wasn't actually in a hospital at all. Instead, she was in a section of the Cullen's mansion in Alaska. Sometimes, Edward would open the curtains and let her see the breathtaking scenery and she longed to run and stumble along the terrain.

She'd managed to start taking small, unsteady steps, with the help of Edward and Carlisle. Her catatonia had atrophied her muscles so much, she felt like the rubbery shakiness would never subside. Yet, day by day, her steps became a little more stable, her legs a bit more toned and flexible.

Her voice took longer to recover, and longer still her panic each time she was left alone for any length of time. She felt stupid and pathetic for being so weak, allowing her psyche to depend on the presence of her vampire boyfriend...or, lover...or, whatever the hell he was in her life now. Carlisle claimed to have his theories about that, but kept it to himself. Normally, Bella would have pouted and ignored him until he relented, but she craved the communication so much now, like one craving water from an oasis in the desert.

If not for their vampire hearing, she would have been embarrassed by her barely audible whispers, which was all she could currently manage, but at least she could respond, communicate, converse.

Her waking hours started to slowly outnumber her sleeping hours, the fatigue leaving her with every interaction from the Cullen clan. She finally felt like her family was back together. She finally felt...home. Which begged the question, where were Charlie and Renee? Surely, one of them would have heard the news of her recovery and would have jumped on the next plane to see her.

One day, she finally felt brave enough to ask.

"Why haven't Charlie or Renee come to visit me, Edward?"

Edward's lips pursed like they did when he was keeping something from her.

"Bella, I'm sure we can talk about this later. Why don't we watch a movie?"

No, she'd become wise to his distractions.

"No, I want to know why my parents haven't come to visit. Don't change the subject, Edward."

Edward grimaced, "Let me go talk to Alice, I'll see what we can do."

Why did he need to consult with Alice? Wasn't it as simple as getting on a plane? Did they know she was here?

So many questions.

With a whoosh of air, Alice and Edward returned together, a grim look tainting Alice's usual cheerful face.

"Bella, I think we should wait just a while longer..."

"For what, Alice?" Bella replied, exasperated, "What are you hiding from me?"

Alice stared into the distance, checking the future, no doubt.

"I think it's okay, Edward. But it has to be you," Alice half-whispered in his direction.

Again, a pensive grimace marred his features. "Now, Alice?"

"The news won't be any better in a month. Just tell her. She'll be okay. She's stronger than you know."

"Yeah, except for when she went catatonic for almost a year."

A year? But...

"Guys, I'm sitting right here!" Bella exclaimed, her voice rising above a whisper as panic fueled her vocal chords, "What do you need to tell me? Just tell me! I need to know! It's driving me insane with worry!"

Edward heaved a deep sigh.

"Can you leave us alone for a minute?"

Alice nodded. "Of course, take your time."

Worry creased her forehead and her breathing sped, knowing, yet not knowing what Edward might have to say.

"Edward?" Bella questioned, her lip quivering and tears springing to her eyes.

Cold, marble hands covered her own as her fingernails bit into his hardened flesh.

"There's no easy way to tell you this, so I may as well just say it."

Bella braced herself.

"Victoria came after me when I left. We eluded her for several weeks until she finally gave up. Alice could anticipate her every move, so she never found her opening. That was, until she changed her mind and at the last minute decided to attack you."

"But I don't remember..."

"She never made it to you. She made sure of that. Victoria was much smarter than we gave her credit for. While she bided her time to attack you, or so we thought, she was raising an army of vampires to attack everyone you knew and loved."

Bella hadn't even noticed that she'd started openly sobbing, tears spilling down her face at the realization of what Edward's next words would reveal.

"They started in Florida, first with your stepfather and then with your mother. They made it look like an accident, in order to throw off Volturi suspicion. Bella, I'm so sorry!"

His golden eyes fixed on her, as if holding back tears that would never come.

"A-and Charlie?"

"Bella, I think that's enough for now..."

"No! Just say it! Just...just say it, Edward."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, as he carefully chose the next words.

"The wolves sensed that something was coming to Forks and they did their best to protect Charlie."

"Wait, wolves? What wolves?"

Heaving a deep breath, Edward continued "I've already said too much. But, I suppose it's a moot point now."

"What are you talking about? Edward, tell me!"

"The Quiluetes are wolves, more specifically shapeshifters which take the form of wolves."

"Like Jacob? Is Jacob a wolf?" she asked, knowing the answer, but needing the confirmation.

"Yes, he is...was..."

"Was? Was?"

"Bella please, calm down," he urged, shouting for Jasper in the next breath.

Waves of calm swept over her, sinking her into the pillow and making her a bit lethargic.

"Edward. Please..."she squeaked.

"Victoria's army attacked Charlie and the wolves matched their numbers. But the newborns were strong and the wolves untrained. Many fell that day and soon they overpowered them. They kidnapped Charlie and brought him to Victoria for the final stage of her plan."

Bella's eyes widened in horror.

"Alice saw it as soon as it happened. Victoria changed Charlie."

A shaky hand rose to Bella's mouth and she realized it was her own, her body feeling disconnected from itself.

"Under Victoria's training, Charlie became her number one weapon. She sent him out to kill you, knowing his newborn thirst would be too much to resist. She knew that the guilt he felt over killing you and the knowledge that our family's involvement spurred this on would result in a vendetta against our family. She was only partially right about her plan." Edward grimaced again.

"She didn't count on Alice," Edward mused, a grim smile creeping across his face. "Alice found you in the hospital and immediately had you transferred into our care. You've been hiding here ever since."

"B-but what about Ch-Charlie?"

"He'll come, of that Alice is absolutely sure. But, when he tries to kill you, IF he tries to kill you, we'll be there to protect you...and him, I suppose. Perhaps, even show him there's a better way."

Bella sat dumbfounded, trying to wrap her recovering brain around all of this new information. Mom was dead, dad was undead and trying to kill her, and Victoria was still on the warpath.

After what felt like an eternity, she knew what she had to do.

"Edward, I need you."

His steely arms embraced her tightly, not gentle at all.

"Oh Bella, I hoped so much to see this day when I could hold you in my arms again."

His nose buried into her hair, then the juncture of her neck.

"Edward?"

"Hmmm?" he hummed into her throat.

"I need you. To change me."

**A/N: **

**Only a year and a half and I finally updated! I've been mulling over a few storylines and this one just called to me so strongly. I hate it when a story idea seems good at the time and then you get to writing and halfway through seems like the worst idea ever. That's what happened here, basically. **

**Thank your lucky stars and my moodiness that the muse struck and struck hard!**

**Also, thanks to the review from Sheeijan which finally inspired me to write this chapter. You never know when a review can spark progress on an unfinished fic! Thanks for giving me that spark!**

**Until next time...**

**~CoC**


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